Mikhail Tolstykh

Mikhail "Givi" Tolstykh (1980-) was a Lieutenant-Colonel of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) during the Ukrainian Civil War.

Biography
Mikhail Tolstykh was born in 1980 in Ilovaisk, Ukrainian SSR, in the Soviet Union to a family of partial Georgian descent. Tolstykh served in the Ukrainian Ground Forces of Ukraine from 1998 to 2000 and worked in a slingrope factory afterwards. However, in 2014he became a commander of the separatist Donetsk People's Republic, whose goal was either to become an independent country or join Russia. Using the name "Givi", he became infamous for ignoring an artillery strike near him (in a Youtube video) and for torturing prisoners after the Second Battle of Donetsk Airport.